Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Miles Jul 26, 2014 22:49:48	Hi Everyone!   Man, I haven't been back to this forum since 3.5.  Everything looks different.     Anyway, I'm going to be running the Starter Set for a mixed group of D&D newbies and some who haven't played in a really long time.  We'll be learning the rules and stuff at this time, play through with the pregens and then see if it sticks enough for them to want to play a full campaign when the PHB comes out.   Do you guys have any suggestions on anything I should keep my eyes open for?  This new set of rules seems really fun and pretty easy to teach/learn, but how's the adventure?  I've got a week to prepare, so any insight would be great.  I'm reading through some of the threads from DMs who've run the set and everyone seems to be having a lot of fun.   Thanks!   Miles.
#2 DM_HEEGZ Jul 27, 2014 11:00:13	For starters I'd download the basic pdf as it has more info than the starter set. Not required, but it made things a bit easier and gives a second set of the rules. I would normally suggest printing them, but a new version of the basic pdf will be released in a couple of weeks so don't waste your money/ink on it now. Just refer to it on a laptop or tablet at your table. Here is where you can download it:   http://wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/basicrules   Second, I suggest printing copies of the character sheets from the basic pdf. They are three pages, but the third page is for spells. So you would need all three pages for anyone playing the pregen wizard or cleric. The rogue and fighters only need the first two pages. For our game I made copies of the pregen sheets and we wrote right on them. Its doable but was quite a pain and we didn't learn the abilities as quickly. So I'd suggest you copying the pregens over to a blank char sheet, or have your players do it in the first session so they can get to learn their PC and maybe make a few tweaks or ask questions.There are also a variety of char sheets for download if you don't grab the basic pdf.   http://www.wizards.com/dnd/tool.aspx?x=dnd/4new/tool/charactersheet   The final thing I'd suggest for running the starter set is a battlemap, minis, tokens, and extra dice sets. Not required, but extra dice are always nice so each player has a set. We played theater of the mind for most of the adventure and basic combats with just 1-2 enemies. We used a the pathfinder basic map for battles, and preferred it to the chessex battlemap, but anything works really. Haven't tried using dungeon tiles yet, but could use whatever is on hand. We mostly relied on the tokens from the two 4ed monster vaults to supply all of our enemy pieces.   http://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Dice-Polyhedral-7-Die-Opaque/dp/B000RZN38Y/ http://www.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Flip-Mat-Basic-Paizo-Publishing/dp/1601255381/ http://www.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Flip-Mat-Basic-Terrain-Multi-Pack/dp/1601255578/ http://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O/ http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Vault-Essential-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786956313/ http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Vault-Threats-Dungeons-Supplement/dp/0786958383/   Regarding the adventure, it is pretty solid with lots of quests to pursue. The rate of leveling is nice and the pregens work well enough as designed. It also is pretty well set up for teaching someone how to DM for the first time, and my son has used it for that purpose and ran us through the adventure. I don't think there is anything major to tweak, just run it as is and make any alterations on the fly if you want.   Last, don't forget to read the rules about inspiration. We didn't use it the first two sessions, and then I remembered it. For an inspiration token, we bought half a dozen extra d20 dice from the open bin at our local game store. So whenever someone had a good roleplay moment from their background, personality, flaws, bonds, or ideals they got a second d20 for inspiration. The roleplay and fun really took off after that. Good luck!
#3 Miles Jul 31, 2014 17:23:22	Thanks so much!